BOARD CHAIR REPORT Welcome to the Skills Society 2020-2021 AGM Report. A Year Like No Other 2020-2021 was a year like no other the Skills Society has ever experienced. The global COVID pandemic presented unrelenting daily challenges, large and small, for every member of the Skills Society family. Keeping everyone safe and well was the major preoccupation for the individuals we support, family members, Skills Society senior leadership and staff, as well as directors of the board. On behalf of the board of directors, we wish to express our profound thank you to all the heroes who contributed and continue to contribute to the safety and well- being of our entire family. While the pandemic has not yet abated, we can all see light at the end of the tunnel. Vaccinations and other public health measures will see us safely through to the end. Until then, the Skills Society will continue to support each other in the safest and most sensitive ways possible.
of the PDD Program; and 2) taking stock of how the organization was performing in relation to the challenges presented to COVID-19. This year, the board and senior leaders were joined for part of the retreat by Ms. Carlie Scucatto, PDD Contract Specialist. We thank Carlie for her interest in the Skills Society and the people we support. Influence and Advocacy The Skills Society Advocacy Committee, headed up by Vice-Chair Amy Abbott worked together with many other organizations from the disability sector to influence Government of Alberta decision makers. Examples include making funding available for sufficient supplies of personal protective equipment, pandemic pay for sector staff and other issues affecting the availability of needed supports.
Skills Society 40-Year Anniversary Fund Development 2021 marks the 40-year anniversary of the Skills Society. The Skills board and senior leadership wish to recognize and thank all those whose vision, principles, values and hard work built an exceptionally strong foundation upon which the Skills Society has built 40 years of progress. When it is safe to do so, we will hold an in-person celebration commemorating our collective achievement. Strategic Thinking and Planning Typically, the Skills Society holds a full-blown, in-person, annual retreat to take stock of emerging trends from the external environment that may impact the organization, think about strategic issues and make plans for successfully navigating the year ahead. This year, because of the pandemic, the board met in the Fall of 2020 for a half-day virtual Zoom mini-retreat. Two issues took center-stage: 1) possible Government of Alberta reforms
16
Since its inception, the Skills Society has been raising money to supplement the funding provided by the Government of Alberta for the support of people with developmental and other disabilities. For example, over many years, funds were raised through casinos, raffles and generous gifts from individual citizens and corporations. Some of these funds were used as needed while others were saved for future projects. For more than a decade, disability sector organizations like the Skills Society have been required by the Government of Alberta to do more and more without funding increases. During 2021, Skills Society leadership decided to improve our capacity to raise funds privately. As a result, we entered into a relationship with the Alberta Treasury Branch to invest our savings more strategically and thereby improve our rate of return. In addition, board member Darcy McDonald authored a paper providing insights into current and potential future fund development strategies. In the next fiscal year,
